Friday, March 25, 2011

Great News for a Friday!

"You want to read an AMAZING book? Check out this one, it's the first in the Twilight series. It's awesome."

"The Bachelor is easily the best show on television. What it's done for feminism is astounding."

"Thank you, thank you, Fox, for renewing a show I love that's on the bubble for cancellation!"

Well, as of today, I can actually say the last one (those first three? Never gonna happen). Yes, Fox has officially renewed Fringe for a fourth season!! Just yesterday I was thinking, "What will they do with the mythology arc if they don't let them know far enough in advance whether or not it's being cancelled? Will we ever find out what the machine is all about?"

And now, I must get all of you non-viewers to start watching. To start, check out the recent issue of EW where Ken Tucker makes a brilliant plea to TV viewers about why they need to start watching. In short, he suggests it's not as serialized as you would think, and if you believe that all you need is love, and that filial love and romantic love can both be so strong you'd be willing to cross universes to find them, then this is the show for you. (Interesting that, like Lost, Fringe is a show where people focus on the sci-fi elements and forget that it's immensely human.) So if you're not watching, use this summer to catch up! It's SO worth it.

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, Fox was gonna cancel Fringe? I can't say I'm surprised, seeing that it's Fox. but at the same time I CAN say I'm surprised, seeing that it's friggin FRINGE!!!I've only seen Season 1, but this show is absolutely incredible. I haven't had the cash to buy Season 2 on DVD yet, but I keep checking stores every time I go out in the hopes that the price will drop. There is an insane amount of great storytelling going on in this show, and potential for so much more! Why the hell would Fox even consider cancelling it (I've answered my own question; it's Fox).

I really liked FlashForward, but in my opinion, Fringe is the next best thing to LOST. It's handled so well, and when I heard that it actually becomes mnore serialized in seasons 2 & 3, I peed my pants with joy.If Fox cancels this show before it has a chance to reach a satisfying end like LOST did, thn I'm literally going to throw my TV through the window.

@ DUSK: I recently started watching Supernatural as well. I'm on the beginning of Season 2, and it's great so far!If you like Supernatural, then Fringe should be right up your alley. The only difference is that Fringe focuses more on the scientific aspects of paranormal phenomena, whereas Supernatural focuses more on the magical aspects.

Y'know what else? S4 of Fringe will be 22 episodes! (Unlike "V", which only had 10 episodes in its second - and maybe final - season.) I didn't realize how much I wanted a fourth season of Fringe until I read the news last night. BIG smile spread across my face!

Supernatural doesn't really do magic like the Buffyverse, their is some stuff that is tied to the real world. Seasons 4 and 5 are really tied together, an overall arc, and not so much Monster of the Week. And 6 is some of the fallout of those events.

This is another show you've gotten me hooked on, Nikki! (The first being Buffy, of which we've spoken about in FB messages recently)I'm currently working my way through season 1 so I can be caught up when season 4 returns!

It is intensely human and about people and relationships and all that stuff. But it's also gotten to be some of the best sci-fi on TV. It keeps getting better and better and exploring much more than just MOTW mutant humans and mad science (not that there's anything wrong with that). But it's been beautiful this season, without being so serialized it falls in on itself. It's found a really good balance. I'm just very impressed with how it's come together as a series.

In the world of TV, Film and literature there are some incredibly good things occurring as I write this.

"Justified" is evidently both a hit critically and ratings wise which should guarantee that it will on the air for at least a couple season's more.

After years of setbacks Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Hobbit" finally went into principal photography this week in New Zealand.

Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" books are in the midst of being adapted to a series of theatrical films as well as a connected TV series. And SK himself has a major new novel set to come out in November.

After a interminably long 5 year wait George R. R. Martin's fifth Song of Ice and Fire novel, "A Dance with Dragons" finally has an official publication date. July 12th for those who haven't heard. And yes they mean this year. Plus, the new HBO adaptation of "A Game of Thrones" begins next week. Can't wait.

But most importantly, "Fringe" has been renewed for another season. For me this was a big relief after the disappointing cancellations of promising shows likes "Firefly", "Doll House", and "Flashforward" in the recent past. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't sure about the series at first but as it has progressed it's become the highlight of my television week and has even gone a long way towards filling that big gap that was left when "Lost" concluded. So long live "Fringe"!!!

Page48: Actually, going back to revisit those first episodes knowing what we know now, I realized they already had so much of it figured out -- the bus filled with amber at the beginning of S1 hints at the alt-verse early on; the seemingly random science-moments of the week in most of season 1 were actually important pieces of the Pattern, and showing early links to ZFT, Bell's experimentation, and the alt-verse.

So it's all there, but it's one of those things where you appreciate it more now. I watched the first 6 episodes and gave up. And then at the end of S1 so many people told me to give it another shot that I got the DVDs and watched it, and loved it.

Nikki, I agree that many of the current episodes are making the earlier ones seem more relevant, but I found it a tough slog at the time (though I've continued to watch every episode).

I wonder if there is a conscious effort now to use elements of those early shows to make them more satisfying for disenchanted S1 viewers (or, let's face it, to sell S1 DVDs), or whether these plans were actually mapped out that far in advance, cuz the latter would really be a gamble.

Colleen: You probably shouldn't jump in. You will be LOST. Get past those initial episodes and by the end of season 1 you'll be fully on board. There are definately "monster of the week" episodes, but there is so much cohesion as it gets rolling. It's the only show I actually remind people about on my FB status. It's that good. But I don't think any of my FB friends (besides Nikki and Jo Garfein from Jopinionated) watch. I keep trying to get people on board. You won't regret it. Start watching now and you'll have a great summer!

So, I put it On Demand, and there was John Noble and Hurley (yay). Noble had this great dramatic scene with the woman from Whiteoaks of Jalna discussing Spock, but people started walking on walls and it got silly.

I have way too many DVDs to watch to go back to the beginning of this, but maybe someday.

For those of you who want to get into Fringe and don't know where to start...here's a great post on Seriable with the 14 must-see episodes to get you caught up to the mythology. I hope its ok to point you to another Blog...and if you haven't watched it - DO - I am not a huge Sci-Fi fan (believe it or not) but love shows with an on-going mythology (Alias, LOST) - and this one's got it...plus the acting is just fantastic. Here's the link to the article:http://seriable.com/zero-to-fringe-understanding-the-fringe-mythology-in-14-episodes/

@Question: I've only seen Season 1, but this show is absolutely incredible. I haven't had the cash to buy Season 2 on DVD yet, but I keep checking stores every time I go out in the hopes that the price will drop.

Netflix, baby!

I know owning DVDs is cool, but you can join Netflix for under 10 bucks on the unlimited 1-disc-at-a-time plan, take up to a month to watch Season 2, cancel at the end of the month if you want, and still have spent less than half of the best price you could probably find for the set. Netflix even runs free trials, so really you could do all that and cancel, spending nada. I've had my problems with the service, mostly in the form of getting more glitchy discs than is apparently usual (sadly, I ooze Murphy's Law when it comes to technology), but the biggest frustration is the fault of my Internet provider and not Netflix, because my connection craps out too often for me to take advantage of streaming video.

@Question again: If Fox cancels this show before it has a chance to reach a satisfying end like LOST did

Uh...No comment. 8^)

I actually enjoyed both Supernatural and Fringe more than Lost last season, not because Lost didn't have its moments but because I could just take in Supernatural episode by episode as pure entertainment and even theorize mightily on Fringe without any of the nagging frustrations that concerned me with Lost. I highly recommend both series to anyone who enjoys Buffy, The X-Files, or just good television with a fantastic bent.

Mostly, I write about television, and with this being the home of the Great Buffy Rewatch of 2011, a lot of that television is Joss Whedon-related (when it's not about Lost). Stick around if you love Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Sherlock, Lost, BtVS, Doctor Who, or anything on HBO.

About Me

I've published companion guides to Xena, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Alias, and Lost through ECW Press, and my latest book is "Finding Lost — Season Six: The Unofficial Guide." Currently, I love Revenge, Community, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead... actually, pretty much everything on HBO or AMC.

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The Great Buffy Rewatch!

Welcome to the home of the Great Buffy Rewatch of 2011, where every Tuesday night we convened to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer from season 1 to the end. I was joined by over 25 guest commentators and Buffy scholars who helped me lead you through the watch, offering non-spoilery discussion for the new watchers as well as spoiler-filled discussions for the rewatchers. The entire Rewatch can be found in the archives here, listed by week and contributor. Go here for the full 2011 schedule, and here to see the list of amazing contributors. And be sure to pick up my book, Bite Me, a complete episode by episode guide to the series!